Schedule with CEU Details

This keynote session deepens professionals’ understanding of the physical and emotional impact of sexual abuse on children, both during the abuse and in its aftermath. Participants will learn to recognize common warning signs that a child may be keeping sexual abuse a secret, including behavioral, emotional, and relational indicators that often go unnoticed. The session also introduces Erin’s Law, explaining its purpose and why developmentally appropriate personal body safety education is a critical, evidence-informed strategy for preventing child sexual abuse and empowering children to seek help.

Learning Objectives:

Describe the physical and emotional impact of sexual abuse on a child during and after abuse.
Learn the warning signs of a child keeping sexual abuse a secret.
Discuss "Erin's Law" is and why personal body safety education is important to preventing child abuse.

This session is approved for the following continuing education credits/hours: 1.0 CME, 1.0 ACE, 1.0 NBCC.

This workshop examines the common myths and realities of child victim behavior in child abuse cases. Participants will explore why children may delay disclosure, respond in unexpected ways, or exhibit behaviors that challenge assumptions. Using research-based evidence and real-world examples, the session will help professionals recognize and interpret victim responses accurately, dispel harmful myths, and apply trauma-informed approaches in their work. Designed for multidisciplinary audiences, this session equips attendees with practical insights to improve interviews, investigations, and overall support for child victims.

Learning Objectives:

Identify the common myths about child victim behavior and how to challenge them.
Explain the different ways children respond to and disclose abuse, including behaviors that may be unexpected or misunderstood.
Apply trauma-informed approaches to support and respond to child victims in both professional and personal contexts.

This session is approved for the following continuing education credits/hours: 1.5 CME, 1.5 ACE, 1.5 NBCC.

This discussion aims to explain why including non-offending caregivers in their children's trauma work is vital to the children's success, how it's difficult, and invite collaborative problem solving for how best to meet these caregivers where they're at.

Learning Objectives:

Identify reasons why non-offending caregivers may be reluctant to accept their child has been abused
Describe reasons it is important to help non-offending caregivers move along the belief spectrum
List concrete action steps they can take to join with these caregivers

This session is approved for the following continuing education credits/hours: 1.5 CME, 1.5 ACE, 1.5 NBCC.

Audiences learn to create trusting, caring and responsive relationships with those they serve. Emphasis is placed on creating predictable environments that are conscious of potential triggers, as well as, how to use social-emotional learning strategies to support others from a strengths-based perspective. Includes a review of SAMHSA's a framework for behavioral health specialty sectors, that can be adapted to other sectors such as nonprofits, child welfare, education, criminal and juvenile justice, primary health care, the military and other settings that have the potential to ease or exacerbate an individual's capacity to cope with traumatic experiences.

Learning Objectives:

Discuss how to operate with a survivor-centered approach
Describe Trauma through a Clinical and real-world lens, including how trauma affects the brain
Analyze a Four-Pronged Approach to Creating Trauma-Informed Care Environments

This session is approved for the following continuing education credits/hours: 1.5 CME, 1.5 ACE, 1.5 NBCC.

This presentation breaks the silence on an issue affecting countless professionals and in turn, their workplaces. Domestic violence is too often viewed through a narrow and misleading lens-low-income victims, visible injuries, and financial dependence - overlooking the truth that even high-achieving professionals, executives, and leaders experience it too. Participants will gain a deeper understanding of domestic violence, explore how it manifests in the lives of professionals, and learn why it is often concealed and the profound impact it has on individuals and organizations. Participants will leave equipped with powerful insight and actionable strategies to foster awareness, empathy, and meaningful support.

Learning Objectives:

Identify societal and personal narratives that shape perceptions of domestic violence.
Examine the impact that common misconceptions have on victims, workplaces, and communities.
Formulate practical strategies to promote awareness and drive meaningful change.

This session is approved for the following continuing education credits/hours: 1.5 CME, 1.5 ACE, 1.5 NBCC.

This workshop introduces attorneys and mental health professionals to the role and utility of neutral "blind" experts in trauma and child abuse litigation. Participants will explore how expert testimony on abuse dynamics, trauma responses, and forensic interviewing can clarify complex issues for judges and juries. The session reviews core legal processes for qualifying as an expert, highlights how blind review strengthens objectivity, and demonstrates how this expertise supports informed decision-making in civil, family, and criminal cases. Real case examples will illustrate practical applications of expert testimony and its impact on case outcomes.

Learning Objectives:

Identify the role and value of neutral "blind" experts in trauma and child abuse litigation
Describe legal processes and standards for qualifying and presenting as an expert witness.
Apply principles of blind expert testimony through case examples and how it can influence outcomes.

This session is approved for the following continuing education credits/hours: 1.5 CME, 1.5 ACE, 1.5 NBCC.

This session examines child maltreatment work from the point of reporting through investigation, prosecution, and conviction, highlighting the perspectives of mandated reporters, multidisciplinary team members, community service providers. Using a case study, participants will trace how each role contributes to child safety, evidence collection, family support, legal outcomes, hope and healing. The session emphasizes the challenges, ethical considerations, and collaboration required at each stage of the process. Attendees will reflect on how personal and professional perspectives influence decision-making and develop strategies for coordinated, trauma-informed responses across disciplines, fostering resilience and effectiveness throughout the child protection and justice continuum.

Learning Objectives:

Analyze the child maltreatment case trajectory from initial report through all phases of intervention, highlighting the perspectives of mandated reporters, multidisciplinary team members, community service providers.
Identify challenges and best practices in trauma-informed, multidisciplinary collaboration that support child safety, family engagement, and legal outcomes.
Reflect on personal and professional perspectives to enhance resilience, ethical decision-making, and effectiveness across the child protection and justice continuum.

This session is approved for the following continuing education credits/hours: 1.5 CME, 1.5 ACE, 1.5 NBCC.

Best Interest Attorneys (BIAs) are attorneys appointed to represent kids when their parents are engaged in a high-conflict custody dispute. There are several circumstances that intersect with our work including CPS, Education, and mental health. Regarding mental health: we are uniquely situated in that we are (1) entitled to; and (2) benefited by reviewing our client's therapeutic records. For therapists who have not worked with BIAs previously, this feels alarming and against their obligation to keep privilege. I'd love to dive into what therapists may experience when interacting with a BIA, address common concerns, and hear about participants' concerns.

Learning Objectives:

List the steps they will take when receiving a letter from a BIA.
Identify questions they may want to ask the BIA or their practices' attorney
Identify how the BIA's involvement can help them in serving their patient

This session is approved for the following continuing education credits/hours: 1.5 CME, 1.5 ACE, 1.5 NBCC.

This interactive session invites participants into a collaborative conversation on transforming pediatric health systems through community partnerships. Using the Transforming Engagement, Access & Mobile Services (TEAMS) initiative as a case study, we will explore how collective action-across schools, healthcare providers, and local organizations-can dismantle barriers to care and advance equity for children and families in underserved communities. Through real-world examples from West Baltimore, participants will learn how TEAMS integrates school-based health education, mobile pediatric services, and trusted partnerships to meet families where they live, learn, and play. Together, we will examine strategies for building trust, leveraging technology, and creating sustainable models that align with value-based care goals.

Learning Objectives:

Identify three strategies for building trust and amplifying impact through community partnerships.
Design a draft framework for integrating mobile pediatric care into underserved neighborhoods.
Apply TEAMS principles to create an actionable plan for advancing pediatric health equity in their own context.

This session is approved for the following continuing education credits/hours: 1.5 CME, 1.5 ACE, 1.5 NBCC.

Learn how Maryland's Regional Navigator (RGNV) program brings together multidisciplinary teams (law enforcement, social services, schools, and advocates) to create coordinated responses for child sex trafficking.

Learning Objectives:

Identify at least three strategies Regional Navigators use to build and maintain cross system collaboration when responding to child sex trafficking cases.
Evaluate common barriers to collaboration across systems and distinguish which approaches are most effective in overcoming them.
Develop an action step they can take back to their community to strengthen survivor-centered, multidisciplinary collaboration in preventing harm and promoting healing.

This session is approved for the following continuing education credits/hours: 1.5 CME, 1.5 ACE, 1.5 NBCC.

In this era of unprecedented division, the key to breakthrough communication and meaningful connection is the skill of deep listening. Skills beyond simply nodding or paraphrasing are required to bridge the growing chasm in our professional and personal lives. This workshop is designed to turn conversations from sources of stress into engines of hope and action. Moving beyond the passive observer and equipping participants to become an active architect of connection. Join us to transform your capacity for human-to-human connection.

Learning Objectives:

Identify the hidden habits that sabotage your deepest attempts at connection, professionally and personally.
Engage in a structured process of listening that fosters empathy and understanding.
Utilize the power of journaling and personal storytelling to support your own and others' healing and build bridges in your personal, professional, and public life.

This session is approved for the following continuing education credits/hours: 1.5 CME, 1.5 ACE, 1.5 NBCC.

This session will examine the benefits, process, and sustainability of creating spaces for survivors of sexual and power-based violence to implement storytelling into their healing journey. The session will include an overview of Heartly House's Survivor Speaker Bureau, evidence-informed principles of storytelling as empowerment, and trauma-informed basics for engaging with survivors. Participants will have the opportunity to develop their own version of a speaker program, brainstorm ideas for programs and events, and take part in a mini storytelling class of their own.

Learning Objectives:

Describe the benefits of adding survivor speaker/storytelling elements to their existing survivor advocacy programs.
Analyze the feasibility of creating a survivor speaker program within their agency by assessing their needs in creating, implementing, and sustaining such programs.
Prepare a plan for bringing some or all elements of a storytelling series/program to their organization or community.

This session is approved for the following continuing education credits/hours: 1.5 CME, 1.5 ACE, 1.5 NBCC.

This session will primarily focus on identifying and explaining the major barriers to justice, including statutes of limitations, charitable immunity, non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), and the laws of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, for child sexual abuse (CSA) survivors. Participants will learn about the tactics of the Children's Justice Campaign, which include writing and editing legislation, testifying before legislative committees, and working with lawmakers and advocates to advocate for child protection legislation. By the end of this session, participants will be better prepared to advocate for public policy reforms and accountability for CSA perpetrators, especially concerning the role of the civil system.

Learning Objectives:

Identify the barriers to justice for CSA survivors.
Explain how these barriers can be dismantled through efforts to reform current law and public policy.
Assess how they can apply this new understanding of legislative reform to everyday life and activism.

This session is approved for the following continuing education credits/hours: 1.5 CME, 1.5 ACE, 1.5 NBCC.

In high-stress professions, constant demands and emotional intensity can leave even the most dedicated professionals feeling depleted, reactive, or disconnected from their purpose. Steady in the Storm offers a practical, restorative framework for understanding and strengthening emotional regulation amid pressure. Drawing from mindfulness practices, cognitive-behavioral strategies, and trauma-informed principles, this session equips participants with tools to pause, re-center, and respond with intention rather than reaction. Through guided reflection and interactive skill-building, attendees will learn how to identify personal triggers, manage emotional overload, and develop daily regulation habits that foster clarity and calm. The workshop emphasizes that resilience is not about suppressing emotion but about channeling it effectively to maintain compassion, focus, and professional presence.

Learning Objectives:

Identify personal and professional triggers that contribute to emotional overwhelm and dysregulation in high-stress environments.
Apply at least two evidence-based emotional regulation strategies (e.g., grounding, cognitive reframing, or mindfulness) to manage stress responses in real time.
Develop a personalized regulation plan that integrates practical tools for maintaining calm, focus, and resilience during challenging work situations.

This session is approved for the following continuing education credits/hours: 1.5 CME, 1.5 ACE, 1.5 NBCC.

This interactive workshop examines how institutions can harm survivors -and how legal practitioners, advocates, and allied professionals can work together to create accountability. Takeaways include how participants will recognize collaboration gaps, understand their role in the accountability ecosystem, and leverage investigative resources to strengthen survivor cases.

Learning Objectives:

Identify how abusive authority figures strategically create advantages that isolate survivors and their advocates.
Discuss how advocates, medical treaters and attorneys can identify the "next professional in the chain" who will rely on their work to achieve accountability.
Learn a legal framework to analyze current cultural trends that normalize institutional abuse.

This session is approved for the following continuing education credits/hours: 1.5 CME, 1.5 ACE, 1.5 NBCC.

This session will explore the critical role civil child sexual abuse litigation plays in both survivor healing and community-wide prevention. Drawing from real-world experience representing survivors, we will examine how trauma-informed legal advocacy not only delivers accountability but also drives systemic change, exposes institutional failures, and empowers survivors to reclaim their voices. Participants will gain insight into emerging legal trends, best practices for working with survivors in the legal setting, and strategies for partnering with community organizations to create safer environments for all children. By understanding the intersection of law, prevention, and healing, we can strengthen our impact and contribute to a holistic movement that protects, supports, and uplifts communities.

Learning Objectives:

Learn how civil legal actions can hold perpetrators and institutions accountable while promoting systemic change that protects children and supports survivor recovery.
Gain practical strategies for working with survivors in a sensitive, empowering, and legally effective manner.
Explore ways to partner with organizations and communities to enhance prevention efforts, raise awareness, and create safe environments for children.

This session is approved for the following continuing education credits/hours: 1.5 CME, 1.5 ACE, 1.5 NBCC.

In this keynote, Dr. Wendy Ellis introduces the Building Community Resilience (BCR) process and the groundbreaking Pair of ACEs framework, offering a powerful lens for understanding how childhood adversity and community conditions intersect to shape health, equity, and opportunity. Drawing from real-world examples across the United States and globally, Dr. Ellis demonstrates how cross-sector collaboration, spanning health, education, housing, justice, and community organizations, can align resources and strategies to create supportive environments where children and families can thrive. Participants will explore practical ways to apply community resilience concepts to their own systems, identify key partners and assets, and leverage policy and advocacy strategies that address social determinants upstream. This keynote equips attendees with a hopeful, actionable roadmap for transforming systems, advancing equity, and building the conditions for long-term resilience at both individual and community levels.

Learning Objectives:

Understand the Building Community Resilience process and Pair of ACEs framing.
Learn to apply the concept of the community resilience in cross-sector strategies.
Identify key community and cross-sector partners to develop strategies and tactics to foster supportive environments for children and families.
Identify key community assets and resources, advocacy messaging and policy topics to promote upstream efforts to address social determinants, build community resilience.

This session is approved for the following continuing education credits/hours: 1.0 CME, 1.0 ACE, 1.0 NBCC.